Diary 7/19/1861 – Pvt. John Henry Cowin, Co. D, 5th AL

18112009

Fortunately for us we had not much rain last night. Slept very soundly, three of us under one blanket. The trees kept off the heavy dew. Four or five of the boys came in this morning. They broke down on the road and were left behind. Brother came back from the Junction, where he went yesterday of account of being sick. He states that father is very unwell, not being able to walk at all. He was quite uneasy yesterday as he thought we were in the fight. The enemy sent over a flag of truce this morning asking permission to bury their dead. They say that they lost fifteen hundred men. The correct list is however hard to get at. Our loss is thought to be between fifteen and thirty killed and forty or fifty wounded. Have not heard a gun today. The bearer of the flag of truce states that they retired to Centreville and are throwing up breastworks, thinking that we are pursuing them. We are again placed in the bushes to prevent the enemy from crossing to our side of the creek. We have orders to charge them should they attempt a crossing. Col Rodes says he wants to give the Greensboro boys a chance at the enemy the first opportunity and he thinks this the best way to do it. The glorious news of the repulse of Patterson by Johns[t]on came in this afternoon. It is said that he has driven him beyond the Potomac, which we hope may be true. Whether it be true or not Johns[t]on has sent Beauregard four thousand men to reinforce this line. An attack is expected and all the sick have been removed from the Junction; Among those sent by Johns[t]on to Beauregard is Col Syd Moore’s regiment. The Yankees have made no advance today. Guess they do not like southern balls and bayonets. At Winchester where the engagement took place between Johns[t]on and Patterson, Johns[t]on found he could not dislodge the enemy from their works, he gave the order to storm them. The South Carolina boys pitched in and ran over their works in short order, completely routing them, capturing their artillery and ammunition and fifty prisoners, who arrived at the Junction yesterday. Our provisions got pretty short today, but fortunately some were sent down to us, and we pitched in like a pack of hungry wolves. We have nothing but hard crackers and fat meat. Our cooking utensils consist of sticks sharpened at one end, upon which we put our meat and hold to the fire until done. It eats firstrate too especially when a fellow is hungry. We sleep again tonight under the trees and bushes.

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!